Former Strikeforce champion Tarec Saffiedine headlined UFC Fight Night 34 in a five-round non-title bout against South Korean fighter Hyun Gyu Lim showcasing great striking display and powerful leg kicks…beautiful! The most awaited UFC debut finally took place after multiple set backs earning Tarec Saffiedine his first win under the UFC banner! As expected Saffiedine striking left Lim Staggering and forced him to the canvas on more than one occasion thus earning a unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47).
Check out the Play-By-Play provided by MMAWeekly.com!
Tarec Saffiedine vs. Hyun Gyu Lim
Lim opened strong, catching a Saffiedine kick and forcing him to the mat with a counter right hand in the opening round, but Saffiedine quickly recovered, working to establish his jab-leg kick attack.
Saffiedine continued the approach in the second round, landing with much greater efficiency. His success with the jab and leg kicks set Saffiedine up to start landing some power right hands. Saffiedine seemed to gain a lot of confidence and found his rhythm in round two, landing at a much higher pace than Lim.
He continued to build momentum in the third round, landing several more leg kicks, staggering Lim, and forcing him to the canvas. Saffiedine dropped down into Lim’s half guard, methodically grounding and pounding Lim until the referee stood them up. Saffiedine continued with the leg kicks and Lim again fell to the mat, but survived the frame.
Lim came out aggressively in round four, although he was barely able to remain on his feet. Saffiedine continued to assault the leg, landing several kicks, leaving Lim hobbling around the Octagon. Saffiedine doubled Lim over with a knee to the body, then dropped him with a jumping knee to the face. He followed Lim to the canvas, grounding and pounding, but unable to put him away.
Saffiedine continued attacking the leg in the final round, but Lim answered with several punch combinations, forcing Saffiedine to cover up. Saffiedine landed the jab, but was slowed quite a bit in the final round. Lim kept coming after him, if slowly, but Saffiedine continued to go to the well, kicking the leg out from under Lim, only to have him return to his feet time and again. Lim unloaded in the closing moments of the fight, rocking Saffiedine, sending him stumbling across the Octagon.
Saffiedine, primarily out of desperation, clung to Lim in the final seconds, hanging on just long enough to secure the unanimous decision victory.
Check out UFC Fight Night 34 results below.
Main card:
- Tarec Saffiedine def. Hyun Gyu Lim via unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47)
- Tatsuya Kawajiri def. Sean Soriano via submission (rear naked choke) at :50 of round 2
- Kiichi Kunimoto def. Luiz Dutra via DQ (illegal elbows) at 2:57 of round 1
- Kyung-Ho Kang def. Shunichi Shimizu via submission (head and arm triangle) at 3:53 of round 3
Undercard:
- Max Holloway def. Will Chope via TKO (strikes) at 2:27 of round 2
- Katsunori Kikuno def. Quinn Mulhern via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Royston Wee def. Dave Galera via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
- Mairbek Taisumov def. Tae Hyun Bang via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Dustin Kimura def. Jon Delos Reyes via submission (armbar) at 2:13 of round 1
- Russell Doane def. Leandro Issa via submission (triangle choke) at 4:59 of round 2
